Jobless benefits to end for 107,500 Floridians, group says

Frank Wallace, who is unemployed, displays a sign during a "Vigil… (Matt Rourke, AP )

December 1, 2010|By Marcia Heroux Pounds, Sun Sentinel

With 2 million Americans poised to lose jobless benefits starting this week, the Obama administration is pushing Congress to pair an extension of unemployment aid with a deal to also extend the Bush-era tax cuts.

In a White House news briefing Wednesday, spokesman Robert Gibbs said a Congressional debate about extending tax cuts for "billionaires," and not about benefits for the unemployed, was "completely out of whack with what's important to the American people."

Because the aid program lapsed Tuesday, more than 107,500 unemployed workers in Florida are losing their jobless benefits, according to National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group for the unemployed.

Nearly 2 million unemployed Americans will run out of benefits over the holidays, the group said.

, Now, Floridians who lose their jobs will only be able to access 26 weeks of regular state unemployment benefits. During the recession, up to 79 weeks of federal emergency benefits have been available to many unemployed workers in the state.

The group being cut off from benefits includes nearly 34,000 Floridians who have only had six months of regular unemployment compensation.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday asked a group of congressional leaders working out a compromise on expiring tax cuts to also tackle expiring unemployment benefits.

"We discussed working together to keep the government running this year — and running in a fiscally responsible way," Obama said in a statement after the bipartisan leadership meeting. "And we discussed unemployment insurance, which expires today. I've asked that Congress act to extend this emergency relief without delay to folks who are facing tough times by no fault of their own."

In Florida, more than 107,000 residents will see their jobless benefits end, according to NELP. Of those, 33,880 have only received six months of state benefits; 73,637 on a federal extension will see their benefits end after whatever tier they're in is complete.

Florida has 1.1 million residents out of work and unemployment is still higher than the national rate — 11.9 percent in October, unchanged since September. The state's unemployed receive one of the lowest jobless benefits in the nation, a maximum of $275 a week.

Some Congress representatives have pointed to the nation's growing deficit in their reluctance to extend the benefits, though economists say the benefits go right back into the economy as they're used for necessities by the unemployed.

Republican lawmakers insist that the cost — around $5 billion a month — be offset with budget cuts elsewhere.

Andrew Stettner, deputy director of NELP, said he thinks there is a real chance Congress will again pass an extension. Congress has historically moved to extend unemployment "anytime unemployment has been this high. I think there's a real chance cooler heads will prevail. There's also a real chance of a Washington failure. But it's by no means over."

On Nov. 18, the House arrived short of the required two-thirds to pass a three-month extension of the benefits through February.

On Wednesday, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, again tried to move for a temporary extension of benefits. Republicans sought to extend the benefits but pay for them through unspent federal funds to be determined by the Office of Management and Budget.

Now, unemployment insurance may become part of a tax-cut compromise. Most Democrats want the tax cuts to be extended for the middle class, but not the wealthiest Americans. Republicans and some moderate Democrats want an extension for all of the tax cuts.

Stabenow said it was an embarrassment to allow bonus tax cuts "for millionaries and billionaires while someone can't keep a roof over their head."

Extended unemployment benefits "kept 3.1 million out of poverty last year," said advocate Stettner. "It's the wrong time to cut it off. We need this program to cushion the economy and get to genuine growth."

Marie Hamilton, 53, of Sunrise, was laid off from her job as a program director for a radiology program. She's only received a few months of unemployment benefits and finds it "scary" that additional weeks beyond the regular 26 may not be available to her.

"Hopefully, I won't need them. But there's not much out there. I'm supposed to come up with two applications a week and I'm running out of places to apply," said Hamilton, a single parent.

While she needs the unemployment benefits, they're not covering her living expenses and she's running quickly through her savings. Hamilton has stopped paying her mortgage and is fearful she may lose her home if she doesn't soon find a job.